Product Dispensing System

ABSTRACT

A product dispensing system including a dispenser having a housing that defines an internal volume and a product display area, and a support deck received in the internal volume, the support deck including a front end and a rear end, wherein the front end extends toward the product display area, and wherein the rear end is elevated relative to the front end, a container received in the internal volume and supported on the support deck, the container defining an access opening, wherein the support deck directs the container toward the front end such that the access opening is aligned with the product display area, and a plurality of products initially housed in the container.

FIELD

This application relates to the dispensing of products from packagingcontainers and, more particularly, to product dispensers configured tocooperate with packaging containers to dispense products.

BACKGROUND

Products are typically shipped to retailers in bulk by enclosingmultiple individual product units in a container, such as a carton orbox. For example, canned foods may be shipped to a retailer in a boxcontaining twenty-four individual cans. Then, it is typically theretailer's obligation to remove the individual product units from thecontainer and present them (e.g., on a shelf) to consumers.

Alternatives to the traditional package-ship-unpack-display model havebeen developed in an effort to improve operating efficiency. Forexample, U.S. Pat. No. 7,922,437 (issued on Apr. 12, 2011) discloses aproduct dispensing system that includes a dispenser having a supportstructure, a product display area and an opening tool. The dispenser maybe positioned on a retailer's shelf and loaded with product simply byplacing a container comprising multiple units of product onto thesupport structure of the dispenser. As the container is being placedonto the support structure, the opening tool of the dispenser opens thecontainer in such a manner that products rolls from the container anddown to the product display area of the dispenser under the force ofgravity.

Unfortunately, many products are not configured to roll, let aloneconfigured to roll in a generally straight line. Therefore, despite theavailability of various product dispensing systems, many products arestill manually dispensed using the traditionalpackage-ship-unpack-display model.

Accordingly, those skilled in the art continue with research anddevelopment efforts in the field of product dispensing systems.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, the disclosed product dispensing system may include(1) a dispenser having a housing that defines an internal volume and aproduct display area, and a support deck received in the internalvolume, the support deck including a front end and a rear end, whereinthe front end extends toward the product display area, and wherein therear end is elevated relative to the front end, (2) a container receivedin the internal volume and supported on the support deck, the containerdefining an access opening, wherein the support deck directs thecontainer toward the front end such that the access opening is alignedwith the product display area, and (3) a plurality of products initiallyhoused in the container.

In another embodiment, the disclosed method for dispensing products mayinclude the steps of (1) providing a plurality of containers, eachcontainer housing a plurality of products and defining an accessopening, (2) stacking the containers in a dispenser, wherein thedispenser includes a product display area and a support deck, thesupport deck having a front end and a rear end, wherein the front endextends toward the product display area, and wherein the rear end iselevated relative to the front end, and (3) moving a lower-mostcontainer of the plurality of containers onto the support deck, whereinthe support deck directs the access opening of the lower-most containerto the product display area.

Other embodiments of the disclosed product dispensing system and methodwill become apparent from the following detailed description, theaccompanying drawings and the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front and side perspective view of one embodiment of thedisclosed product dispensing system;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the product dispensing system ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of one container of the product dispensingsystem of FIG. 2, shown in a closed configuration;

FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the container of FIG. 3A, shown in anopen configuration;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the dispenser of the product dispensingsystem of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a front and side perspective view of another embodiment of thedisclosed product dispensing system;

FIG. 6 is a front and side perspective view of a portion of the productdispensing system of FIG. 5, shown in a first configuration;

FIG. 7 is a front and side perspective view of a portion of the productdispensing system of FIG. 5, shown in a second configuration;

FIG. 8 rear and side perspective view of the product dispensing systemof FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is a front and side perspective view of a portion of the productdispensing system of FIG. 5, shown in a third configuration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, one embodiment of the disclosed productdispensing system, generally designated 10, may include a dispenser 12,a plurality of containers 14 and a plurality of products 16. Eachcontainer 14 may house an initial quantity of products 16, and may beloaded into the dispenser 12. The dispenser 12 may dispense the products16 directly from the containers 14.

The containers 14 may be any containers capable of housing products 16and being housed within the dispenser 12. For example, the containers 14may be paperboard cartons, corrugated boxes or the like.

Referring to FIG. 3A, each container 14 may be a generally rectilinearcontainer having six walls 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28 that define aninternal volume 30 for receiving the products 16 (the products 16 areshown in FIGS. 1 and 2). Opposed walls 18 and 20 may define the frontand rear walls, respectively, of the container 14. Opposed walls 22 and24 may define the first (e.g., right) and second (e.g., left) sidewalls, respectively, of the container 14. Opposed walls 26 and 28 maydefine the base and upper walls, respectively, of the container 14.Containers of other shapes and configurations are also contemplated.

At least one major surface of the container 14 may be marked withindicia 32, such as printed text and/or graphics. For example, the frontwall 18 of the container 14 may be marked with indicia 32 indicative ofthe products 16 housed within the internal volume 30 of the container14.

Referring to FIG. 3B, an access opening 34 may be formed proximate thefront end 36 of the container 14 to provide access to the internalvolume 30 of the container 14. For example, the access opening 34 may beformed in the front 18, side 22, 24 and upper 28 walls of the container14. The access opening 34 may be sized and shaped to allow the products16 housed in the container 14 to pass therethrough.

In one expression, the access opening 34 may be pre-formed in thecontainer 14. Optionally, a peelable label or the like (not shown) maybe applied to the container 14 over the pre-formed access opening 34.Therefore, the access opening 34 may be revealed by peeling away theoptional peelable label from the container 14 prior to loading thecontainer 14 into the dispenser 12.

In another expression, the access opening 34 may be defined bypre-formed weakening features 36, such as perforations or zipper strips,formed in the walls 18, 22, 24, 28 of the container 14, as shown in FIG.3A. Therefore, the access opening 34 may be formed by separating aportion of the container 14 along the pre-formed weakening features 36prior to loading the container 14 into the dispenser 12.

As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, each container 14 may optionally includeone or more ventilation openings 38. The ventilation openings 38 mayencourage air flow within the container 14, which may be particularlyadvantageous when the container 14 houses products 16, such as yogurtcups, that require refrigeration.

Various products 16 may be housed in the containers 14 and dispensed bythe dispenser 12. Since the products 16 will be dispensed directly fromthe containers 14 and, therefore, will not roll though the dispenser asin prior art product dispensing systems, the products need not becapable or rolling. For example, the products 16 may be cups (e.g.,yogurt cups), cans (e.g., canned food), jars (e.g., jarred sauce),bottles (e.g., bottled soft drinks), wrapped or bagged packages (e.g.,individual snack packs).

The products 16 may be arranged in rows within the container 14. Forexample, the products 16 may be arranged in two side-by-side rows, asshown in FIG. 1. Containers 14 housing only one row, or three or morerows, of products 16 are also contemplated.

While the product dispensing system 10 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 havingfour containers 14, with each container 14 housing an initial quantity(e.g., twelve) products 16, those skilled in the art will appreciatethat varying the number of containers 14 and/or the quantity of products16 housed within the containers 14 will not depart from the scope of thepresent disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, the dispenser 12 may include a housing 50and a support deck 52. The housing 50 may be sized and shaped to receivethe containers 14, and may define a product display area 54. The supportdeck 52 may be received within the housing 50, and may direct thecontainers 14 and associated products 16 toward the product display area54. Therefore, containers 14 may be loaded into the dispenser 12 andconsumers may retrieve products 16 from the containers 14 by way of theproduct display area 54.

Referring to FIG. 4, the housing 50 of the dispenser 12 may include afirst (e.g., left) side wall 56, a second (e.g., right) side wall 58, afront wall 60 and a rear wall 62. The left side wall 56 may be laterallyspaced from the right side wall 58, and may be generally parallel withthe right side wall 58. The front wall 60 may be longitudinally spacedfrom the rear wall 62, and may be generally parallel with the rear wall62. Optionally, the housing 50 may further include a base wall 64 thatmay enclose, at least partially, the lower portion 66 of the housing 50.

The side walls 56, 58, the front wall 60 and the rear wall 62 may definean internal volume 68 of the housing 50. The internal volume 68 may besized and shaped to receive a plurality of containers 14 (e.g., fourcontainers 14) in a stacked and slightly angled configuration, as shownin FIGS. 1 and 2.

The upper portion 70 of the housing 50 may define a container loadingopening 72 that may open to the internal volume 68 of the housing 50.For example, the container loading opening 72 may be defined by theupper portions 70 of the side walls 56, 58, the front wall 60 and therear wall 62. Therefore, containers 14 may be loaded into the internalvolume 68 of the housing 50 by way of the container loading opening 72.

The lower portion 66 of the housing 50 may define a container dispensingopening 74 that opens to the internal volume 68 of the housing 50proximate the product display area 54. For example, the containerdispensing opening 74 may be defined by the lower portions 66 of thefront wall 60 and the side walls 56, 58. Therefore, a container 14, orat least a portion of a container 14, may move from the internal volume68 of the housing 50 to the product display area 54 by way of thecontainer dispensing opening 74, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Still referring to FIG. 4, the support deck 52 of the dispenser 12 maybe received in the internal volume 68 of the housing 50. The supportdeck 52 may laterally extend between the left and right side walls 56,58, and may include a front end 76 that longitudinally extends towardthe front end 78 of the housing 50 and a rear end 80 that longitudinallyextends toward the rear end 82 of the housing 50.

The support deck 52 may be inclined from the front end 76 to the rearend 80 (i.e., the rear end 80 may be elevated relative to the front end76). Therefore, containers 14 supported on the support deck 52 may beurged downward toward the front end 76 of the support deck 52 under theforce of gravity.

The support deck 52 may be constructed from a relatively low frictionmaterial, thereby allowing containers 14 to slide along the support deck52 down toward the front end 76 of the support deck 52. For example, thesupport deck 52 may be constructed from a polymeric material, such aspolycarbonate, or a metal, such as polished steel.

A stop 84 may be positioned proximate the front end 76 of the supportdeck 52 to prevent containers 14 from moving beyond the front end 76 ofthe support deck 52. For example, the stop 84 may laterally extendbetween the side walls 56, 58 of the housing 50 proximate the lowerportion 66 of the housing 50. Therefore, the stop 84 may retaincontainers 14 proximate the product display area 54 of the housing 50.

While the dispenser 12 is shown in the drawings with a product displayarea 54 that protrudes longitudinally forward relative to the front wall60 of the housing 50, various other configurations of the productdisplay area 54 are also contemplated. For example, in one variation,the stop 84 may be generally vertically aligned with the front wall 60of the housing 50 such that the product display area 54 is housedsubstantially within the internal volume 68 of the housing 50.

Furthermore, while the dispenser 12 is shown in the drawings with onlyone product display area 54, dispensers with multiple product displayareas are also contemplated. For example, the lower-most container 14′may be directed to the lower-most product display area 54 and thecontainer 14 immediately above the lower-most container 14′ may bedirected to a second product display area (not shown). While not shownin the drawings, product display areas configured to receive two or morecontainers 14 are also contemplated.

Referring back to FIGS. 1 and 2, the product dispensing system 10 may beassembled by loading a plurality of containers 14 into the internalvolume 68 of the housing 50 of the dispenser 12 by way of the containerloading opening 72. The containers 14 may be loaded such that they aregenerally vertically stacked one on top of the next.

If necessary, an access opening 34 (FIG. 3B) may be formed (or otherwiserevealed) in each container 14 prior to loading the containers 14 intothe dispenser 12, as described in greater detail above.

When the containers 14 are loaded into the internal volume 68 of thehousing 50, the lower-most container 14′ may be supported on the supportdeck 52. Gravity may urge the lower-most container 14′ toward the frontend 76 of the support deck 52. Therefore, the lower-most container 14′(or at least the front end of the lower-most container 14′) may passthrough the container dispensing opening 74 to the product display area54. The other containers 14 within the dispenser 12 may be retainedwithin the internal volume 68 of the housing 50 by the front wall 60.

Accordingly, the dispenser 12 may dispense the containers 14 to theproduct display area 54 such that products 16 may be retrieved from thecontainers 14 by way of the access openings 34 (FIG. 3B) when thecontainers 14 are dispensed to the product display area 54.

Once all products 16 have been removed from the lower-most container14′, the lower-most container 14′ may be removed from the dispenser 12.For example, the lower-most container 14′ may be removed from thedispenser 12 by pulling the container 14′ through the containerdispensing opening 74. With the lower-most container 14′ removed, thenext container 14″ (FIG. 1) may move to the lower-most position and,ultimately, to the product display area 54 by dropping onto the supportdeck 52 under the force of gravity.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, another embodiment of the disclosed productdispensing system, generally designated 100, may include a dispenser102, a plurality of containers 104 and a plurality of products 106. Eachcontainer 104 may house an initial quantity of products 106, and may beloaded into the dispenser 102. The dispenser 102 may dispense theproducts 106 directly from the containers 104.

The containers 104 may be similar to the containers discussed above, andmay include an access opening 108 (FIG. 5) sized and shaped to allow theproducts 106 housed in the container 104 to pass through the accessopening 108.

Each container 104 may optionally include one or more ventilationopenings 110. The ventilation openings 110 in the containers 104 may beconfigured to align with corresponding ventilation openings 112 in thedispenser 102. The ventilation openings 110, 112 may encourage air flowwithin the containers 104, which may be particularly advantageous whenthe containers 104 house products 106, such as yogurt cups, that requirerefrigeration.

The dispenser 102 may include a housing 114 and a support deck 116. Thehousing 114 may be sized and shaped to receive the containers 104, andmay define a product display area 118. The support deck 116 may bereceived within the housing 114, and may direct the containers 104 andassociated products 106 toward the product display area 118. Therefore,containers 104 may be loaded into the dispenser 102 and consumers mayretrieve products 106 from the containers 104 by way of the productdisplay area 118.

The housing 114 of the dispenser 12 may include a first (e.g., left)side wall 120, a second (e.g., right) side wall 122, a front wall 124and a rear wall 126. The left side wall 120 may be laterally spaced fromthe right side wall 122, and may be generally parallel with the rightside wall 122. The front wall 124 may be longitudinally spaced from therear wall 126, and may be generally parallel with the rear wall 126. Theside walls 120, 122, the front wall 124 and the rear wall 126 may definean internal volume 128 of the housing 114.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, a front shelf member 150 may be connected tothe front wall 124 and may laterally extend between the side walls 120,122. The front shelf member 150 may protrude inward from the front wall124 (i.e., toward the rear wall 126). While the front shelf member 150is shown as a single piece member, the front shelf member may becomprised of multiple shelf members without departing from the scope ofthe present disclosure.

Rear shelf members 152 may be connected to the rear wall 126, and mayprotrude inward from the rear wall 126 (i.e., toward the front wall124). While multiple rear shelf members 152 are shown, a single shelfmember, like the front shelf member 150, may be used without departingfrom the scope of the present disclosure.

The front and rear shelf members 150, 152 may be position in the upperportion 154 of the housing 114 to support a plurality of containers 104(e.g., three containers 104) in a generally horizontal configuration, asbest shown in FIG. 6. Therefore, the internal volume 128 of the housing114 may be sized and shaped to receive the containers 14 in a stackedand generally horizontal configuration.

The upper portion 154 of the housing 114 may define a container loadingopening 156 that may open to the internal volume 128 of the housing 114.For example, the container loading opening 156 may be defined by theupper-most ends of the side walls 120, 122, the front wall 124 and therear wall 126. Therefore, containers 104 may be loaded onto the shelfmembers 150, 152 by way of the container loading opening 156, such as byvertically lowering the containers 104 onto the shelf members 150, 152through the container loading opening 156.

Still referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, the front wall 124 of the housing 114may be pivotally connected to the dispenser 102 such that the front wall124 may move between a closed configuration, as shown in FIG. 7, and anopen configuration, as shown in FIG. 6. As one example, the front wall124 may be connected to the front shelf member 150 with a hinge 158 thatfacilitates movement of the front wall between the open and closedconfigurations. As another example, the front wall 124 may be connectedto the side walls 120, 122 at pivot points.

Optionally, the front wall 124 may be biased to the closed configurationshown in FIG. 7. For example, a biasing element, such as a spring, maybe operatively connected to the front wall 124 and may urge the frontwall 124 to the closed configuration.

Thus, containers 104 may be loaded onto the shelf members 150, 152 ofthe dispenser 102 by first moving the front wall 124 to the openconfiguration (FIG. 6) and, while the front wall is in the openconfiguration, horizontally urging the lower-most container 104′ ontothe shelf members 150, 152 and then stacking additional containers 104onto of the lower-most container 104′. Once the containers 104 have beenloaded into the internal volume 128 of the housing 114, the front wall124 may be moved to the closed configuration (FIG. 7) to enclose theinternal volume 128.

Referring to FIG. 8, the rear wall 126 of the housing 114 may define acontainer displacement opening 160 that opens to the internal volume 128of the housing 114. The container displacement opening 160 may be formedin the upper portion 154 of the rear wall 126, such as immediately abovethe rear shelf members 152, such that the container displacement opening160 is generally aligned with the lower-most container 104′ supported onthe shelf members 150, 152. The container displacement opening 160 maybe sized and shaped to allow the lower-most container 104′ to passtherethrough when a force (arrow A in FIGS. 6 and 7) is applied to thecontainer 104′.

Optionally, a biasing member 162, such as a spring-loaded finger, may bepositioned over the container displacement opening 160 to resistmovement of containers 104 through the container displacement opening160, thereby retaining containers 104 within the internal volume 128 ofthe housing 114. Therefore, the force (arrow A in FIGS. 6 and 7)required to urge a container 104′ through the container displacementopening 160 may be greater than the biasing force of the biasing member162.

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, as the lower-most container 104′ supportedon the shelf members 150, 152 is urged through the containerdisplacement opening 160 in the direction shown by arrow A (FIGS. 6 and7), the front end 105 of the container 104′ may become sufficientlydisplaced from the front wall 124 that the front end 105 disengages thefront shelf member 150 (i.e., the front end 105 is no longer supportedon the front shelf member 150). With the front end 105 of the container104′ disengaged from the front shelf member 150, the container 104′ maydrop down onto the support deck 116 under the force of gravity, as shownin FIG. 9.

Referring to FIG. 7, the front wall 124 of the housing 114 may define anengagement opening 164 that opens to the internal volume 128 of thehousing 114. The engagement opening 164 may be formed in the upperportion 154 of the front wall 124 such that the engagement opening 164is generally aligned with the lower-most container 104′ supported on theshelf members 150, 152. Therefore, the force (arrow A) required to urgethe container 104′ through the container displacement opening 160 (FIG.8) may be applied to the container 104′ by way of the engagement opening164. For example, the force (arrow A) may be applied manually byinserting a finger, a probe or the like through the engagement opening164.

Various alternatives to the engagement opening 164 are alsocontemplated. For example, the force (arrow A) required to urge thecontainer 104′ through the container displacement opening 160 (FIG. 8)may be applied by a button, lever of the like connected to the dispenser102, such as to the front wall 124 of the dispenser 102. Therefore, theforce (arrow A) may be applied by actuating the button or lever ratherthan manually inserting a finger, a probe or the like through anengagement opening 164.

Referring back to FIGS. 5 and 6, the lower portion 130 of the housing114 may define a container dispensing opening 132 that opens to theinternal volume 128 of the housing 114 proximate the product displayarea 118. For example, the container dispensing opening 132 may bedefined by the front wall 124 and the side walls 120, 122. Therefore, acontainer 104, or at least a portion of a container 104, may move fromthe internal volume 128 of the housing 114 to the product display area118 by way of the container dispensing opening 132.

The support deck 116 of the dispenser 102 may be received in theinternal volume 128 of the housing 114. As best shown in FIG. 6, thesupport deck 116 may laterally extend between the left and right sidewalls 120, 122, and may include a front end 134 that longitudinallyextends toward the front end 136 of the housing 114 and a rear end 138that longitudinally extends toward the rear end 138 of the housing 114.

The support deck 116 may be inclined from the front end 134 to the rearend 138 (i.e., the rear end 138 may be elevated relative to the frontend 134). Therefore, containers 104 supported on the support deck 116may be urged downward toward the front end 134 of the support deck 116under the force of gravity.

A stop 140 may be positioned proximate the front end 134 of the supportdeck 116 to prevent containers 104 from moving beyond the front end 134of the support deck 116. For example, the stop 140 may laterally extendbetween the side walls 120, 122 of the housing 114. Therefore, the stop140 may retain containers 104 proximate the product display area 118 ofthe housing 114.

The product dispensing system 100 may be assembled by loading aplurality of containers 104 into the internal volume 128 of thedispenser 102 and onto the shelf members 150, 152 (FIGS. 6 and 7). Inone implementation, the containers 104 may be vertically lowered ontothe shelf members 150, 152 by way of the container loading opening 156.In another implementation, the containers 104 may be horizontally urgedonto the shelf members 150, 152 by pivoting the front wall 124 of thedispenser 102 to the open configuration shown in FIG. 6.

With the containers 104 loaded onto the shelf members 150, 152, a force(arrow A in FIGS. 6 and 7) may be applied to the lower-most container104′ supported on the shelf members 150, 152 to urge the container 104′through the container displacement opening 160 (FIG. 8) until thecontainer 104′ drops down onto the support deck 116. Then, as shown inFIGS. 5 and 9, gravity may urge the container 104′ toward the front end134 of the support deck 116 such that the container 104′ (or at leastthe front end of the 104′) may pass through the container dispensingopening 132 to the product display area 118. The remaining containers104 may remain in a generally horizontal configuration on the shelfmembers 150, 152 until they are urged through the container displacementopening 160 and caused to drop onto the support deck 116.

Thus, the dispenser 102 may dispense the containers 104 to the productdisplay area 118 such that products 106 may be retrieved from thecontainers 104 by way of the access openings 108 in the containers 104when the containers 104 are dispensed to the product display area 118.

Accordingly, the disclosed product dispensing systems and methods maydispense containers to a product display area, thereby allowingconsumers to retrieve products directly from the containers. As such,the disclosed product dispensing systems and methods may be used todispense products that may not be compatible with product dispensingsystems that require products to roll.

Although various embodiments of the disclosed product dispensing systemand method have been shown and described, modifications may occur tothose skilled in the art upon reading the specification. The presentapplication includes such modifications and is limited only by the scopeof the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A product dispensing system comprising: adispenser comprising: a housing comprising a front wall, a rear wall, afirst side wall and a second side wall that define an internal volumeand a product display area, wherein upper portions of said front wall,said rear wall, said first side wall and said second side wall define acontainer loading opening; a support deck received in said internalvolume, said support deck comprising a first end and a second end,wherein said first end extends toward said product display area, andwherein said second end is elevated relative to said first end; a firstshelf member connected to said front wall above said first end of saidsupport deck; and a second shelf member connected to said rear wallabove said second end of said support deck;. a container received insaid internal volume through said container loading opening andsupported on said support deck, said container defining an accessopening, wherein said support deck directs said container toward saidfirst end such that said access opening is aligned with said productdisplay area; a plurality of products initially housed in saidcontainer; and a second container received in said internal volumethrough said container loading opening, said second container beingsupported on said first and second shelf members above said container.2. The system of claim 1 wherein said housing further defines acontainer dispensing opening proximate said product display area.
 3. Thesystem of claim 2 wherein said container is sized and shaped to passthrough said container dispensing opening.
 4. The system of claim 2wherein said container at least partially extends through said containerdispensing opening when said access opening is aligned with said productdisplay area.
 5. The system of claim 1 wherein said dispenser furthercomprises a stop proximate said first end, wherein said stop at leastpartially defines said product display area.
 6. (canceled)
 7. The systemof claim 1 wherein said support deck laterally extends between saidfirst side wall and said second side wall.
 8. The system of claim 1wherein said front wall defines a container dispensing opening proximatesaid product display area.
 9. The system of claim 1 wherein at least aportion of said front wall is pivotally connected to said housing andmoveable between an open configuration and a closed configuration. 10.The system of claim 9 wherein said front wall provides access to saidinternal volume when in said open configuration.
 11. The system of claim1 further comprising a third container received in said internal volumethrough said container loading opening.
 12. The system of claim 11wherein said third container is stacked directly on top of said secondcontainer.
 13. (canceled)
 14. The system of claim 1 wherein said shelfmembers support said second container in a generally horizontalconfiguration.
 15. The system of claim 1 wherein said housing defines acontainer displacement opening aligned with said second container. 16.The system of claim 15 wherein said second container becomes disengagedfrom said shelf members when said second container is urged a distancethrough said container displacement opening.
 17. The system of claim 1wherein said plurality of products comprise a plurality of yogurt cups.18. A method for dispensing products comprising the steps of: providinga plurality of containers, each container of said plurality ofcontainers housing a plurality of products and defining an accessopening; providing a dispenser comprising a housing that defines aninternal volume and a product display area, a support deck received insaid internal volume, said support deck comprising a first end and asecond end, wherein said first end extends toward said product displayarea, and wherein said second end is elevated relative to said firstend, and first and second shelf members positioned above said supportdeck;. receiving said plurality of containers in said internal volume,said plurality of containers being supported on said shelf members suchthat each container of said plurality of containers is stacked directlyon top of a subjacent container positioning a lower-most container ofsaid plurality of containers onto said support deck, wherein saidsupport deck directs said access opening of said lower-most container tosaid product display area.
 19. The method of claim 18 wherein saidreceiving step comprises stacking said plurality of containers in asubstantially horizontal configuration.
 20. The method of claim 18further comprising the step of withdrawing a product of said pluralityof products from said lower-most container through said access opening.21. A product dispensing system comprising: a dispenser comprising: ahousing that defines an internal volume and a product display area; asupport deck received in said internal volume, said support deckcomprising a first end and a second end, wherein said first end extendstoward said product display area, and wherein said second end iselevated relative to said first end; and first and second shelf memberspositioned above said support deck; a container received in saidinternal volume and supported on said support deck, said containerdefining an access opening, wherein said support deck directs saidcontainer toward said first end such that said access opening is alignedwith said product display area; a plurality of products initially housedin said container; a second container received in said internal volumeand supported on said shelf members in a generally horizontalconfiguration; and a second plurality of products initially housed insaid second container.